David Benavidez is not getting the Canelo Alvarez fight anytime soon. However, that doesn’t mean the conversation has died out for the bout. As it turns out, since Benavidez defeated Canelo’s former sparring partner Oleksandr Gvozdyk via a unanimous decision in June this year, the Mexican superstar has highlighted the uneventful action in the ring many times over his recent press run.

Canelo argued that Benavidez only looks impressive when he’s fighting smaller opponents. At 175 pounds, Benavidez struggles against fighters his own size, but when he competes at 168 pounds, he often brings opponents up in weight, making him appear better than he is. Marcos Villegas recently discussed this topic in an interview with Jose Benavidez Sr., where David’s father strongly responded to Canelo’s claims.

Jose Benavidez Sr. is still proud of his son

Responding to Canelo’s criticism for avoiding his WBC mandatory, David, for over a year, Benavidez Sr. pointed out, “A lot of people know that he came injured with both hands and cut over his eye” for the bout against Gvozdyk. Benavidez Sr. felt these conditions severely affected his son’s performance and stopped him from delivering his best. Even David Benavidez had reflected on these injuries during the post-fight press conference.

It’s worth mentioning that after the fight in June, Benavidez, now the Interim WBC champion, has become the next in line to face the winner of Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev. Regardless, Benavidez Sr. continued, “I feel so proud how the way he looked, you know, he won. He looked spectacular in my eyes.” He even speculated that his son could have finished off Gvozdyk in two or three rounds, but his performance, despite the injury, was more than satisfactory.

As for Canelo, he is currently slated to square off against his WBA mandatory Edgar Berlanga on September 14th in Las Vegas. In the meantime, this former world champion has shared his prediction for the potential fight between Canelo and Benavidez.

Paulie Malignaggi highlights the appalling situation with Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez 

Paulie Malignaggi, the former two-weight world champion turned boxing analyst, has strongly criticized Canelo Alvarez for avoiding a fight with David Benavidez, despite Benavidez being mandatory for the WBC title. Malignaggi believes Canelo is dodging a tough challenge, predicting that Benavidez would easily defeat the Mexican superstar. 

“I think David Benavidez runs him over like a train running over a car that’s stuck in the train tracks,” Malignaggi stated. He also argued that Canelo should vacate his titles if he’s unwilling to face mandatory challengers, accusing the sanctioning bodies of allowing Canelo to avoid Benavidez for years. Malignaggi expressed his frustration, saying, “The fact he’s been allowed to avoid his mandatory for three years is absolutely appalling.”

Jose Benavidez Sr. doesn’t seem to be in the mood to deal with criticism from Canelo Alvarez, as he shared the real reason behind Benavidez’s slow performance. But is that really the case? And if Benavidez was really injured, why was he allowed to fight? And was his performance in the Gvozdyk fight really underwhelming?